


It's not warm when she's away

by chatnoiristhebest5



Series: Umbrella Siblings Being Good Siblings™ [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: AU where everything is fine, Angst, Because of Reasons, F/M, Five misses his wife, Gen, I just these two to have some sibling bonding time, I'm Bad At Tagging, Just brothers being good brothers here, Klaus Hargreeves Can Levitate, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus knows a thing or two about missing people, Klaus tries to help in a sneaky way, Let's pretend that the Sparrow Academy doesn't exist, M/M, No Incest, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Number Five | The Boy-centric, Why don't they have much of that in canon?, sibling bondingTM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29682276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chatnoiristhebest5/pseuds/chatnoiristhebest5
Summary: Klaus sat down beside him, frowning for a moment. It was almost as though he didn't believe him. But, thankfully, Klaus just smiled and continued on, letting it go. "I needed to go shopping for some clothes. Since I'm technically not allowed to drive, I need you to do it."Five was about to decline, when he realized it could be his chance to see Dolores again. If Klaus needed some clothes, there was a chance he'd go to Gimbel's Brothers. "What shop?""Gimbel's Brothers."Five forced himself to frown. He didn't want Klaus to grow suspicious if he grew excited. Faking an exasperated sigh, Five grumbled, "Alright, I'll take you."
Relationships: (mentioned) - Relationship, Dolores & Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Klaus Hargreeves & David "Dave" Katz, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Umbrella Siblings Being Good Siblings™ [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187297
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	It's not warm when she's away

**Author's Note:**

> Some more Klaus/Five sibling bonding time because YES
> 
> Also, the title is from, "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. The song is GREAT and I highly recommend it.

Five stared ahead of him, his eyes unfocused. To anyone else, he may have looked lost in thought. Anyone else would've thought he was thinking of something complicated, like advanced math equations or time travel. In reality, however, he just really missed Dolores.

Yes, he was aware that to everyone else she was just a random mannequin. But to Five, she was so much more. She was beautiful, she was intelligent, she snarky, and, most of all, she had been there with him when everyone else was gone. 

Ever since he'd returned her to the Gimbel's Brothers he'd found her in, Five had missed her. He'd put her back where he thought she belonged, at the time, but now he felt that he should've kept her by his side. He'd thought they'd stopped the apocalypse when he'd returned her, and he'd thought it was time she lived her own life. But then, the world had ended again, and again, and all he wanted was to have Dolores at his side one last time.

Dolores had always kept him grounded. When he'd feel like he was falling down a rabbit hole, Dolores would make a little remark and he'd be back in the present. She always made sure to remind him to find food, to take a short break, to stop drinking so much whiskey. If it wasn't for her, he may not have survived for so long and been able to get back to his family. 

It had only been a couple weeks since he'd last seen her. Ten days trying to stop an apocalypse in 1963, and four days in the present. But, in all honesty, it felt like a lifetime. He needed to see her, but he didn't know how.

Five blinked and snapped back to reality when was hand came uncomfortably close to his face. On the hand was a tattoo that said, "Hello." It was Klaus.

"Hey, buddy," his brother said gently, "You were spaced out there. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Five snapped. He scooted away from Klaus on the couch he'd been sitting on.

Klaus sat down beside him, frowning for a moment. It was almost as though he didn't believe him. But, thankfully, Klaus just smiled and continued on, letting it go. "I needed to go shopping for some clothes. Since I'm technically not allowed to drive, I need you to do it."

Five was about to decline, when he realized it could be his chance to see Dolores again. If Klaus needed some clothes, there was a chance he'd go to Gimbel's Brothers. "What shop?"

"Gimbel's Brothers."

Five forced himself to frown. He didn't want Klaus to grow suspicious if he grew excited. Faking an exasperated sigh, Five grumbled, "Alright, I'll take you."

Neither of them commented on the fact that he technically shouldn't drive either, since he looked thirteen, and made their way the the car.

* * *

Upon arriving at Gimbel's Brothers, Five grew nervous. Would Dolores even still want to see him? Did she miss him too? Was she fine without him? Was she even still there? Five knew full well that she wasn't in the greatest condition when he returned her, but surely they would've fixed her up. There's no way that they would've thrown her out, right? _Right?_

Five tried not to think about that possibilty.

Once inside, Five stuck with Klaus, not wanting to seem suspicious. It was probably suspicious enough that he'd agreed to go shopping with him. But, as Klaus looked through the clothes, it became apparent that they'd be there for a long time.

"What do you think of this?" Klaus asked, holding up a neon pink faux leather skirt. Five opened his mouth, but was cut off before he could say anything. "Yeah, you're right, it's not extravagant enough for me."

Five was baffled at that. But then again, Klaus had... _interesting_ taste in clothing, to say the least.

Once he grabbed a few things, Klaus retreated into a dressing room near the display Five had left Dolores. He took his chance, sneaking away to look at the mannequins. Surely, a quick check-in wouldn't hurt.

Looking upon the display, Five's heart sunk. She wasn't there. She was gone. Frowning, Five blinked to the other display nearby. She wasn't there, either. As he blinked from display to display, Five tried to fight off a grim realization. The realization that they may have thrown Dolores away.

But it couldn't be! Why would they throw away a perfectly good mannequin? Dolores was always a hard worker, couldn't they see that? He'd asked them to give her something with sequins, and they'd _thrown her away?_

No. It couldn't be. Five couldn't believe that. Yet, after exploring the entire store, Five had to believe it. There was no other explanation for her disappearance. Which meant that when Five returned Dolores to her rightful home, hoping to give her the life she always wanted, he'd brought her to her demise.

Five stared at the display of which he'd left Dolores, dismayed. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he shrugged it off forcefully.

"Ah, I see, you came here to see Dolores, didn't you?" Klaus said, voice aggravatingly playful.

"She's not here," Five mumbled, not looking at the man beside him.

Klaus's voice changed, seemingly concerned. "Um, like, not at this display? Have you checked the other--"

"She's _gone_ , Klaus! Ok?" Five snarled, glaring at his brother.

Klaus flinched, but Five didn't even have it in him to feel bad for scaring his brother. Dolores was gone and it was all his fault. 

Klaus, however, recovered quickly, "Have you checked the dumpsters in the back? Maybe they threw her there? I mean, I don't think the trash truck--"

Five didn't hear the rest of Klaus's sentence before blinking to the back of the store.

* * *

Five stood in front of the dumpsters. There were only two large ones, he could look through one and Klaus could look through the other. It was a simple plan. Klaus would help, wouldn't he? He'd sifted through dumpsters before. Five hadn't, but he wasn't about to miss an opportunity to find Dolores. Shoving his pride aside before it could protest, Five blinked into the dumpster.

As soon as he landed inside, his feet squished something. Grimacing, he ignored it and looked on the surface of the trash. Dolores wasn't there. So, he started grabbing pieces of trash-- _only the dry pieces_ \-- hoping to find her somewhere in the massive heap. 

The only reason Five knew Klaus arrived was the fact that he called for him. Pausing his search, Five called, "Right here!"

"You're dumpster diving?" Klaus asked, voice incredulous.

Five rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to ask, _'What does it look like I'm doing?'_ "I'm searching for my _wife_ ," he clarified, irritated. "And _you_ are going to help me. Hop into that other dumpster."

Klaus was silent for a moment, and Five almost stopped his search for a full minute so he could look at his brother to see what was taking him so long. Then, he heard the sound of metal clanging, notifying him the Klaus was climbing into the dumpster.

As Five searched, he grew slightly panicked. The further he looked, the less likely it seemed he'd find Dolores. He had to find Dolores. 

He didn't want it to be his fault she didn't get to live the life she wanted. He didn't want the last time he was her to be the time he foolishly thought he'd stopped the apocalypse. He didn't want her out of his life. When he'd said goodbye, he'd expected to see her around every now and then. He wasn't ready to have her comforting presence forever gone.

Tears pricked his eyes, but it was only from the foul stench--nothing else. He couldn't afford to cry. He needed to be able to _see_ so he could find Dolores. She had to be there. _She had to be_.

"Find her over there?" Klaus's question brought Five out of his thoughts.

Five swallowed, blinking rapidly and shaking his head. "No. I-I haven't--she's _not_ \--" His voice broke and he had to bite his lip hard to keep from sobbing aloud. Over thirty years with Dolores right beside him, and now he couldn't find her. Now, she was gone. For good.

He was met with silence before he heard Klaus's voice above him. "Five? Buddy, what's wrong?" Five was almost startled, but then he remembered Klaus could levitate. It still freaked him out when he was caught off guard.

Five's eyes darted away from Klaus, and he tried wiping away the tears that spilled down his cheeks. Maybe they weren't just from the stench, for no matter what, they didn't stop coming. Opening his mouth to reply, he found no sound came out. Maybe it was all trapped because of the horrible lump in his throat that he just couldn't swallow.

When Five felt arms wrap around him, his first instinct was to push them away. But a small part of him--a small, childish part of him--wanted comfort and wanted to act like the child his consciousness was trapped within. So, he let Klaus hold him. He let him rake his fingers through his hair soothingly, he let him rub his back comfortingly, and he let him take Five out of the dumpster and back onto the paved asphalt.

They sat on the pavement for a few, silent moments as Five struggled to calm himself, sharp breaths becoming more slow and even. Once he'd calmed down, he scrambled out of Klaus's hold, standing up and straightening his uniform. Klaus stood slowly, watching him with curious, measured eyes.

Finally, Klaus spoke, "So, uh, you wanna go home?" 

"Yeah," Five muttered, handing the keys over to Klaus, "You drive this time."

As Klaus opened his mouth to protest, Five blinked away and into the car.

* * *

The car drive was quiet. Five couldn't remember the last time Klaus was so quiet, but he was glad he had some time to just sit in silence. He didn't feel like talking, or listening, or really focusing his energy on anything at all. The radio was on, playing some songs from the 80s and 90s. Songs from their childhood. It should've made Five feel better, like it always did when he thought of simpler times, but this time, it didn't.

It was then, while staring out the window without any focus on the outside, that Five noticed Klaus hadn't bought anything. There had been a few things that he'd grabbed, but he hadn't bought any of them. Thinking about it, he wasn't even sure he'd tried any of them at all. If he had, he would've noticed Five was gone much more quickly than he had. Klaus was the type to show those who shopping with him what he was going to buy.

Did Klaus not actually need anything? Did he somehow know what Five needed? He glanced at Klaus, who was tapping his fingers along to the music, frowning a bit. 

Klaus didn't usually go to place like Gimbel's Brothers. He usually shopped at the most eccentric places, like thrift shops no one ever bought anything from. Was his plan to get Five out of the house to see Dolores, all along? He had known exactly where to look for him when he wasn't by the dressing rooms, after all. But how? Five thought he'd been subtle.

Once back at home, Five followed Klaus into the kitchen and sat down. Klaus grabbed some chips and sat across from him. "How'd you know?" Five asked.

Klaus chewed thoughtfully, "Know what?"

"That I needed to see Dolores. That I missed her," he admitted haltingly.

"Oh," his brother hummed, tossing a couple more chips in his mouth, "I know a thing or two about missing someone." 

It didn't seem like Klaus was simply talking about missing Ben. It sounded different, the look in his eyes was different. Five may not have been good with emotions, but he was observant. When it was clear that the man in front of him wasn't going to elaborate, he decided to press. "What do you mean?"

For a few moments, Klaus just studied him curiously. Then he sighed, placing the bag of chips aside, "Remember when you saw I'd time traveled?"

Five definitely remembered. He mostly remembered being enraged after finding another dead end, and being frustrated that no one seemed to care that the world would end in a few days. But he'd seen Klaus's torn up jacket, he'd seen his tattoo, and he'd noticed the symptoms of time travel. 

Instead of saying any of that, though, Five simply nodded, "Yeah."

"I met someone there, but, y'know, people die in wars." Klaus paused, clearing his throat. "I miss him every day."

Five frowned. He didn't know how Klaus felt, and he didn't know how to make him feel better. He was never good at comforting people, that was more Allison and Klaus's strength. But whatever happened, it affected Klaus, and Five wanted to help. 

"Do you...do you, uh, wanna talk about it--I mean--him?" He asked hesitantly.

Klaus shook his head with a small, sad smile. "Not today. Thanks for asking, though."

Five nodded, then sighed, "Sorry. I'm not good at the sort of thing, you know? At comforting people. I'm...kinda emotionally constipated."

His brother chuckled, "Oh, yeah, totally. I was really caught off guard when you cried. I'd never seen you do that before. I didn't know you were _capable_ of it."

Five grinned, "What, you thought my soul was too dark and bitter and my eyes were as dry as the Saharan desert?"

"Yeah, _exactly_ that. You know me so well, old man," Klaus said, eyes dancing with mischief.

Internally, Five breathed a sigh of relief. That sounded more like Klaus. Maybe he was doing alright at comforting him? Perhaps opening up and trying to lighten the mood was a way of comfort? He wasn't sure. But, whatever he did, made Klaus seem a little more like himself, and that was an accomplishment. Maybe the next time he'd see Allison he'd asked her how to properly comfort someone.

"But, um, Five?" Klaus asked. "I think there's one good outcome of losing Dolores." Five didn't think that was possible, but he let his brother continue. "It means you can let go of the apocalypse. Sure, you won't forget it, but you can work on doing other things and focusing on other things. There's no threat now, so you can relax and find things that interest you and make you happy."

Five almost wanted to protest that Dolores made him happy, but Klaus had a point. He'd spent his whole life in an apocalypse he was working to stop. That was his entire reason for living, all he ever focused his energy on. Now, he had the freedom to love past it, and find other things to focus on, other ways to use his energy, and even ways to gain energy. 

He had time now. He was free. He could spend time with his siblings, get to know them better. He could read all the books Ben always excitedly told him about so many years ago. He could watch the seasons go by, remember was it was like when survival and the apocalypse weren't the only things on his mind. He could go back to simpler times, and this time, he wouldn't have his father to hold him back or tell him what to do.

So, Five nodded, reaching into the bag of chips between him and Klaus, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

**Author's Note:**

> So, what'd you think? Was it good? Let me know!


End file.
